


blackberry tea

by chrobins



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Headcanon, M/M, a little angsty kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 15:43:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13978296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrobins/pseuds/chrobins
Summary: ephraim and leon become close friends in askr, but ephraim has his doubts





	blackberry tea

**Author's Note:**

> this is dedicated to the lovely Luka. our roleplays between these two unlikely friends is so pure that I am so S O F T just thinking about it! their friendship is platonic but still sweet that I've come to love them lots! This has a few headcanons from our FE roleplay group!
> 
> please enjoy!

Tea time between Ephraim and Leon had become a regular occurence. In fact, Ephraim planned his days around his small chats with the archer, looking forward to it on most occasions. Tea had never really been a favorite of Ephraim’s, nor had he put aside time to sit down and enjoy it. But Leon’s company in Askr had opened his eyes to so many things.   
  
And yet he still felt he was too ugly of a person to call himself Leon’s friend. There was a deep rooted fear in his mind that Leon would betray him in some way. He just...had such an uncanny resemblance to his old friend that there were times he looked at Leon out of fear.

 

The slightest possibility of Leon turning to the dark scared him, made him wary sometimes of the other. Ephraim remembered how much trust he had put in Lyon just for it to crumble so easily.  _ Leon could be the same. _

 

“You have wrinkles on your forehead.” Leon remarked, pressing his finger between Ephraim’s brows with a frown. “You’ll make yourself even uglier when you’re older.”

 

Ephraim jumped in his seat a little, looking up wide-eyed. There was a flash in Leon’s face that was so...so Lyon. But after he blinked, Leon’s face looked scared of  _ him. _ Scared that he had crossed the line between royalty and commoner. “Oh, Leon, you startled me...I was lost in thought.”

 

Leon stood up straight, trying to smooth away the slight worry in his tone. “I’ll say. You looked constipated.” He shuffled away back to his tea pot, making another fresh cup to bring to Ephraim once more. There were a few blackberries on the saucer. Leon only did that when he was trying to cheer Ephraim up. “Is something the matter?”

 

As the cup was set down in front of him, Ephraim closed his eyes. Being with Leon taught him that taking some time to yourself, to relax from unsettling feelings, was beneficial, even for warriors as himself. “Say, Leon.” Ephraim began to sweat. “Would you ever lose yourself to the darkness?”

 

The unsettling silence that followed scared Ephraim; he felt a cold chill in the room, as if he had brought darkness to life. It felt as if just the thought of the Demon King could bring him back...and he could take over someone like Lyon, someone close to Ephraim...to bring him down again.

 

“You mean like dark magic? Dark energy?” Leon sat down across from Ephraim, tilting his head. He tried reading Ephraim’s features, tried to decipher his words further. “Hmm…I don’t think so.” Leon shrugged.

 

“Ah…” Ephraim held his head low, glaring at his lap.  _ How could he ask Leon that? _

 

“I don’t like the idea of losing myself.” Leon tucked some hair behind his ear. “I don’t tell many people this, but I nearly did.” He reached for his own cup of tea, taking a quick sip. “I had a lover when I was younger. He was so perfect in every way that I couldn’t help but fall for him.” Leon’s cheeks turned bright red and he sighed dreamily and the memory of him. “And when he enlisted in the army...I had to follow. Regardless of my thoughts on it. I had to follow him no matter what. But...he died in battle and I felt as lifeless as his cold hand that would never hold mine again.”

 

“I’m sorry for your loss…” Ephraim spoke quickly, but Leon waved it off with a little wave of his hand and a small smile.

 

Leon’s hand shook as he set his teacup back on the saucer. Ephraim could tell he was mustering a lot of strength to tell his story. “One of Duma’s followers had sensed the weakness inside me, and coaxed me to follow him. And if I did...I could bring my lover back to life. I...can’t deny I was tempted. For me, he was my everything... _ my life. _ And I had been ready to cross over.”

 

“But you...you didn’t.” Ephraim tried to reassure himself. Leon smiled brightly back at him.

 

“No.” Leon blushed again; almost covering his mouth with his hand. “I was saved...by the most noble man I know. Maybe more so than you.” Leon teased with a wink. “But he convinced me to keep fighting. And his inner beauty made me realize that bringing my lover back to life wasn’t going to make him happy. Going to that dark place was only going to make his efforts useless. Being myself was my greatest strength...and the only way to preserve his memory.”

 

Hearing Leon’s story...so emotional and full of pain that Ephraim couldn’t imagine how it could feel. He might never feel that sort of guilt; he was still sure that he didn’t have the capacity to love another person. Leon’s smile now was bright, pure; it was something that couldn’t be tainted by darkness, let alone the Demon King. 

 

And Ephraim had been so suspicious of him from the start; he never met with Leon without Siegmund. Looking at Leon now, nothing but a beautiful smile and a face that only knew how to love...Ephraim didn’t deserve this. 

 

“Leon…” He spoke, but his voice cracked with every syllable. Ephraim couldn’t remember the last time he had felt his voice betray him, felt his own body do the unthinkable.  _ You are unbefitting of a prince. _ “I’m so sorry…”

 

Worry immediately crossed Leon’s face and he shot out of his seat to Ephraim’s side. “Sorry? What for? Oh Mila, why are you  _ crying? _ ” 

 

Ephriam hadn’t even noticed the tears on his face until Leon’s fingers wiped them away. “Gods, I am.” He felt frozen...a broken shell of a man. How could he suspect someone like Leon? How could he think him and Lyon were the same? How could he do that to someone that trusted him? Ephraim let himself go, squeezing his eyes shut and leaning into Leon’s embrace.

 

“Ssh, it’s okay. It’s not good to hold in tears.” Leon had a gentle arm around Ephraim’s shoulders, letting the Lord rest his head against Leon’s chest. “It’s okay, Ephraim. You are a wonderful friend to me...I am so...happy that we could meet.”

 

Leon’s words toppled Ephraim’s emotions, and the Lord found himself seeking the comfort that his friend so easily offered. He turned his head, staining Leon’s thin shirt with his tears, gently grasping onto the material with his hand. Ephraim couldn’t remember the last time he cried. But at least now, he had a warm heart to accept his misgivings, someone who was there to wipe tears away and tell him it was going to be okay.

 

Ephraim let Leon hold him like that for a while. Leon’s touch was soothing, his voice calming and sweet. Leon ran a tender hand through Ephraim’s hair, sliding down to his back and pat him gently. Maybe this friend, this kind soul, this pure man of heart could show Ephraim what it meant to love. Maybe the glass around his own heart cracked; maybe Leon punched his way through it. 

 

But he was starting to understand love. And despite the terrible pain of betraying a close friends with dark thoughts...he began to understand what it meant to love someone despite everything. He was beginning to feel things he had never felt before. Leon oozed with love...and Ephraim found comfort in him like a moth to light. 

 

“You are a wonderful friend, Ephraim. One I’ve really come to love.”

 

Ephraim wished he could say the same. But as he tried to open his mouth to speak, nothing came out.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> here are the headcanons:
> 
> Ephraim, Eirika, and Lyon used to pick blackberries together when they were young  
> Leon almost became faithful to Duma to bring back his lover  
>  ~~Leon is very nurturing and sweet to his friends, sometimes is mom~~


End file.
